7QT: A Baby, An Anniversary, and An End in Sight

Hey!  Hi!  It's been a while.  Here's what's happening during Week 1 million of the Pandemic ;)

1)

First up, because it's the most important, is that our newest nephew was born!!  

Phil's sister Kelly gave birth to her 7th baby (twins in heaven) and it's a boy who is definitely making a grand entrance!!  Little Oliver Francis Kuzma was induced at 37 weeks because he has gastroschisis and will be at Cincinnati's Children's Hospital for awhile.  You can read all about their journey over on her blog.  Prayers much appreciated!

2)

Phil and I celebrated our 18th Wedding Anniversary, and I enlisted our boys to recreate a wedding photo with our groomsmen.  Maggie was the photographer extraordinaire:

May 17, 2002

and

May 17, 2020

Mother's Day 2020

Even though the plan was to let me sleep in, I am the world's lightest sleeper and heard the little kids wake up around 6:30, yell-whispering at each other to be quiet so that I could sleep.  Ha!  I got up and went on a long walk with the doggie, and then Eamon and Phil cooked a feast!

7QT: No More Naps and Other Moments From Week 7 (?) of This Pandemic

Linking up with Kelly because it's Friday!

1)

My littlest boy, who is three, and used to nap every weekend (but never at school) has recently decided that he is too old for naps at home now.  I have to admit that I miss his naptime so much!  I still try to get him to "just lay down" every few days, but it rarely happens that he falls asleep.  For 18 years, we have always revolved around a nap routine, and it brought a lot of structure to our day.  Not to mention a lot of peaceful afternoons, because I would make the other kids have "rest time" while the littles napped.  I am sad this phase of our life is over, but not sad enough to start over with a newborn.  Mama's too old and tired for that (unless that's what God wants!).

 

2)

Hanging out together as a family and finding outdoorsy things to do have always been a priority for us, but never so much as right now!  We live in a small house, and have a small yard, and we all need to expend some energy each day.  Luckily we live near all sorts of beautiful places to visit.  On Saturday, we went to Fort Taber and walked all around.  It was a gorgeous day!

 

Happy May Day!

Our Diocese put together this video to show how well our Catholic schools responded to the pandemic, and since there are a few Martin sightings (Phil is in the first at home shot, Maggie, Brendan, Declan and Xander all make appearances as well) I wanted to share here, as well as to keep for posterity's sake. 
Happy Friday everybody! 
And Happy May 1st...can you believe it?  We have been praying for America's Reconsecration to Mary that the Bishops will be doing later today. We need all the intercessory help we can get!

7QT: Forced Family Fun During April Break 2020

Hello from inside my house!  Can you believe we're still all doing this?  Crazy times.  Phil and I made a Quarantine Bucket List of (mostly fun family) activities we wanted to accomplish before we went back to work/school.  Then on Tuesday, the governor of Massachusetts closed school for the rest of the year.  Oy vey.  So now the kids are staring down 2 more months of home learning, and we are not feeling rushed to check items off the list super fast, so here are the seven things we did this past week while on April break...

1)

This one has been on my todo list for a looooong time.  We had an unorganized filing box of all our important paperwork that I wanted to sort into binders with sheet protectors.  On a rainy afternoon, I sat on my bed, watched some brainless tv, and got it done.  Isn't it funny the amount of time we take to put something off vs. the amount of time it takes to get it done and feel awesome?  Why do I ever procrastinate?

2)

We keep looking for family activities we can do together (or at least the kids can do together) because we want them to have shared experiences and memories instead of each playing/watching individual screens.  Learn to Draw videos have been amazing!  They really get into it, and they are all so much better artists than Phil or me.

Quarantine Week 5: So Over It

1)

Linking up with Kelly on this Friday of another weird week.  Maybe I should stop calling this time weird, as it perhaps has become our new normal, and going back to the old routines will feel weird.  In any case, I'm over it.  

Here's a little poem I wrote on Instagram:

At the beginning of this crazy lockdown quarantine,

We had the energy for choreographed dance routines.

But this has grown old, and patience is lean,

And even this introvert longs to be seen.

The kids are all fighting, the house isn't clean,

The best part of my day is discovering a new meme.

How much longer can we handle this scene?

"We want out!" says the group, aged baby to teen.

Let's storm heaven to an end to COVID-19,

And never again complain of a normal routine.

Love,

Colleen

2)

Grocery shopping has become like a little game of "What won't they have in stock?" (A: chicken breasts) and "What will we buy incorrectly from my parents' list?" (A: green tomatoes instead of green bananas)